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Educating Students about Drug Use and Mental Health - Grade 9: Expectation 5 Teaching Learning Strategy 5 & 6

Gr 9  Over
 1 2 3 4 5 T/L S 1
 5 T/L S 2
 5 T/L S 3
 5 T/L S 4
 5 T/L S 5  

Demonstrate and use decision-making and assertion skills with respect to media influences and peer pressure related to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Bold Text between the orange lines are excerpts from Grade 9 Healthy Active Living Education Course Profile, Unit 3, Activities 4 & 5.

Activity 5: Using Strategies to Manage Substance Use and Abuse

Teaching/Learning Strategy 5:

In small groups, using a visual organizer (e.g., web, diagram, map), students will brainstorm factors that influence their attitudes toward alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. The list could include: cultural beliefs and values, individual life circumstances, parental and family influences, influences of peers, religion, availability, finances, heredity etc. Each group will rank their results from the group to arrive at a ranking for the class.

Visual Organizer – Student Worksheet

Factors that influence attitudes toward alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Visual Organizer – Teacher Answer Guide

Factors that influence attitudes toward alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Factors that Influence Attitudes Towards Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Use: Student Worksheet

Factor

Rank
1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  
6.  
7.  
8.  
9.  
10.  

Points for Discussion

1. Give reasons for ranking your top two choices:

#1 ________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

#2 ________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________


2. Give reasons for your bottom ranking:

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________


Teaching/Learning Strategy 6:

Small groups will develop numerous scenarios to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their personal strategies to deal effectively with the social influences that contribute to the use and abuse of drugs. The teacher and students will develop the criteria and descriptors for a rubric to assess the learning expectation in the role playing scenarios. This will be a culminating activity for the substance use and abuse activities.

Role-Playing Rubric     
       

Criteria
 Level 1
  Level 2
 		 Level 3
 Level 4

Knowledge/
Understanding

Choice of scenario
(context is
clear, current and realistic)

Understanding concept of pressures

- Demonstrates limited understanding of relationship between the context of the scenario and the purpose of the role-play

- Demonstrates limited understanding of concept of pressures

- Demonstrates some understanding of relationship between the context of the scenario and the purpose of the role-play

- Demonstrates some understanding of concept of pressures

- Demonstrates considerable understanding of relationship between the context of the scenario and the purpose of the role-play

- Demonstrates considerable understanding of concept of pressures

- Demonstrates thorough and insightful understanding of relationship between the context of the scenario and the purpose of the role play

- Demonstrates high degree of understanding of concept of pressures

Application

Demonstration of decision- making/
assertion or refusal skills

 

- Infrequently demonstrates appropriate decision-making, assertion or refusal skills needed to resolve a situation

- Sometimes demonstrates appropriate decision-making, assertion or refusal skills needed to resolve a situation

- Frequently demonstrates appropriate decision-making, assertion or refusal skills needed to resolve a situation

- Routinely demonstrates appropriate decision-making, assertion or refusal skills needed to resolve a situation

Presentation of role-play

- Demonstrates limited competence to present as a group, e.g., not rehearsed, not fluid

- Demonstrates moderate competence to present as a group

- Demonstrates considerable competence to present as a group

- Demonstrates a high degree of competence to present as a group

Additional Activity

Virtual Party

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has developed http://www.virtual-party.org/. This interactive game and resource was written by a group of young people. Its aim is to help young people make healthier choices and reduce the harm that partying may present. The game allows students to apply what they have learned up to this point, in a series of hypothetical, but typical, situations that confront the two main characters, Sarah and Jason. The game takes between three and 15 minutes to play.

These suggested activities focus on helping young people explore the reasons behind their decisions and actions, and the outcomes or consequences (both positive and negative) of those decisions and actions.

1. Benefits and Consequences:

Introduce students to the concept of http://www.virtual-party.org/ and that they have the opportunity to assume the role of Sarah and/or Jason as they head out to a party. Working individually or in pairs, the students track the following as they play the game, following the various decisions and actions that the characters make:

a) What benefits did the characters believe they would get from their decisions to have a drink(s)? What were the outcomes or consequences of those decisions?

b) What benefits did the characters believe they would get by either refusing a drink or moderating their drinking? What were the outcomes or consequences of those decisions?

2. Reducing the Risks:

With the whole class, introduce the following section and then break into small groups to address the questions. Discuss small group findings as a full class.

Hot Tips for Teachers to Guide Debrief

The surest way of avoiding harm from alcohol is not to use it. We know that not everybody makes that choice. Still, Sarah and Jason have options of making choices to reduce the risk of harm to themselves or to their friends. What are some of these choices? Which are more effective? Least effective? More realistic? Less realistic?

Additional Resources   

Additional resources are listed on the site. You may also check with your local school board or public health office or contact the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health at these numbers:

Kids playing football

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